Saving energy and improving efficiency of energy consumption (which also reduces greenhouse gas emissions) are key initiatives in many parts of the world. One of the big sources of energy consumption is buildings, for example, business buildings, schools, public buildings, airports and residential buildings, and other, whose energy use also contributes to CO2 emission.
Advancing the Art of PRISM Analysis, Fels, Kissock, Marean & Reynolds, July/August 1995, Home Energy Magazine Online, “http://www.homeenergy.org/archive/hem.dis.anl. gov/eehem/95/950709.html” (referred to herein as Fels et al.) discloses computing weather-adjusted index of energy consumption of buildings by using monthly billing data from a house or buildings and weather data. Fels et al. compute, compare and report the weather-adjusted index of energy consumption for a period before and after installation of energy conservation measure. However, Fels et al. do not disclose how to forecast the energy consumption of future period using the forecasted future weather and the energy efficiency coefficients or how to simulate the energy consumption for hypothetical building with hypothetical efficiency and weather condition using the energy efficiency coefficients. Fels et al. do not show how to the scale the energy efficiency by building characteristics such as space or hours of operations, how to use the scaled energy efficiency to assess energy efficiency among a group of buildings, and how to simulate energy consumption of hypothetical building and for hypothetical situations.
Energy Efficiency Measuring System and Reporting Methods, Kishlock et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,785,620 B2, Aug. 31, 2005 (referred to herein as Kishlock et al.) discloses computing energy efficiencies of retail customers for two periods, one before energy saving measure (such as resetting thermostats, purchasing more energy efficient products such as sub-compact fluorescent light bulbs, high efficiency heating and cooling units, weatherizing windows and doors) and one after the energy saving measures, also by using energy consumption data and weather data. However, Kishlock et al. do not disclose how to forecast the energy consumption of future period using the forecasted future weather and the energy efficiency coefficients or how to simulate the energy consumption for hypothetical building with hypothetical efficiency and weather condition using the energy efficiency coefficients. Kishlock et al. also do not show how to scale the energy efficiency by building characteristics such as space or hours of operations, how to use the scaled energy efficiency to assess energy efficiency among a group of buildings, and how to simulate energy consumption of hypothetical building and for hypothetical situations.
Fels at al. & Kishlock et al. do not disclose how to compare energy efficiency between two or more buildings or the like or between two or more groups of buildings or the like.